Nimish Jani running or 3rd term as Trustee of Schaumburg, Illinois

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Republican Nimish Jani, a trustee of the city of Schaumburg, Illinois, is running for a 3^rd term in the upcoming April 6, 2021  elections.

His agenda focuses on keeping property taxes low, enhancing  services without new levies, and promoting resident engagement, a press release from his campaign said.

Jani, whose vision is to be fiscally responsible and make Schaumburg a culturally responsive township of aware and engaged residents, said he is not taking his victory for granted.

“For me the upcoming elections are like a wholly new challenge. One has to work as if one is doing it for the first time. I owe it to the residents of this vibrant, multicultural township,” Jani is quoted saying in his press release.

Elected first in 2013, Jani is the Republican State Central Committeeman for the 8^th Congressional District. He says he has a proven track record of community service during his last 8 year which he plans to build upon for the next four years should he have the privilege to be elected again.

A strong proponent of grassroots level involvement by the Indian American and all other ethnic communities, Jani says he  believes America’s democracy offers everybody a fair chance, from the village-township level right up to the U.S. Congress and Senate.

A resident of Schaumburg Township for the past 32 years, Jani is intimately familiar with local issues and what it might take to address them, the press release said.

Schaumburg has a population of about 140,000 and those Indian origin constitute about 18 percent of that, or about 25,000. Of this group, only 4,200 have registered to vote, Jani says.

One of his “passionate” efforts has been to encourage Indian- Americans and other South Asian-Americans in Schaumburg to get involved in local government, institutions and boards.

“It is my cherished goal to see that each of the township’s agencies has at least one member of our Indian American and South Asian American community working. It is pity that as a community, we fall woefully short when it comes to getting involved in the affairs of the township,” Jani says.

As a small business owner himself, he says he understands the community’s preoccupations with their own financial, entrepreneurial and professional lives, “but at the same time we owe to this township that we find at least half an hour a day or even a week to make our voices heard on a variety of issues.”

Grassroots work in local level government he emphasizes, makes a difference and shows results.

“What many of us do not realize is that we will be in America for generations to come and it is essential that we make our mark in the running of the affairs at local, state and federal levels,” Jani says, adding, “While we do see Indian Americans becoming more active at the state and federal levels, we shy away from getting involved at local levels where it really matters.”

He specifically points out that while members of the U.S. Congress and Senate are important, “for our daily lives and the overall standards of living, it is at the level of the township and village that we need to pay much more attention.”

For example, constituents should note that the annual property tax that the residents pay includes over a dozen other levies that people do not even realize are included as well, Jani says.  Those levies pay for services that frequently go unused, according to him. As a result, more often than not, since the Indian American community stays away from local involvement, their cultural needs in terms of local services remain unaddressed, he contends.

“We just do not speak effectively. For instance, why is it that services are not offered in Hindi as they are in Chinese and Korean? That is because we do not represent our case at all. I am working on ways to change all that,” he says.